Myanmar President visits Bodh Gaya

Gaya District Magistrate Kumar Ravi said Kyaw, who is here on a two-day visit, will offer special prayers at the Mahabodhi temple, Buddhists' holiest shrine, and circumambulate the Mahabodhi tree under which Lord Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.

The 1,500-year-old Mahabodhi temple is considered a life time destination formillions of Buddhists across the world.

Kyaw along with his wife and a 31-member Myanmarese delegation, comprising fiveministers, government officials and family members, landed at Gaya Internationalairport, 2 km from Bodh Gaya, in a special aircraft. They were welcomed by districtofficials. Bodh Gaya is 110 km from Patna.

A police official said Kyaw also visited the Burmese monastery in Bodh Gaya and will visit other Buddhist temples there.

Kyaw, who didn't speak to the media, will leave Bodh Gaya for Agra on Sunday tovisit the Taj Mahal.

Kyaw, who is on a four-day visit to India, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital on Monday.

Some agreements between both sides are expected to be inked.

This is the first presidential visit from Myanmar after Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) assumed power in March this year.